WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Everett Bayliss scored a pair of goals, and the Mount Greylock boys soccer team cruised back to the Western Massachusetts Class C Championship Game.

 

The Mounties, who won the regional title last year, earned an 8-0 win over McCann Tech on Tuesday at John T. Allen Field.

 

Top-seeded Mount Greylock went through the first two rounds of the tournament outscoring its opponents, 12-0. Now, it waits to learn when and where it will face No. 6 Pathfinder, a 9-1 winner over Drury in Tuesday’s other semi-final.

 

The floodgates opened early in the semis.

 

Bayliss converted a feed from Noah Klompus in the 12th minute for all the offense Mount Greylock would need.

 

He scored again three minutes later off a centering pass from Simon Shin.

 

In the 22nd minute, Gavin Hetherington cashed in a rebound off the post after a Will Igoe header on a corner kick play to give Mount Greylock three goals in a span of 10 minutes.

 

The scoring flurry sent the Mounties on to their second straight win after finishing the regular season 1-5 in their last six outings.

 

Mike Russo, the former men’s coach at Williams College and boys coach at Hoosac Valley, said he was happy with the effort he has gotten since taking the helm at Mount Greylock mid-season.

 

“Two weeks ago, Tuesday, I took over the team, and they’ve been very responsive,” said Russo, who has assisted with the Mount Greylock team for a couple of years under former coach Blair Dils, who left after the 2023 season. “I’ve been very pleased with the progress we’ve made in practice. They’ve been very focused in practice and want to do well, both individually and as a team, and it’s starting to show.”

 

Russo was quick to say that he felt bad for the hand that was dealt to the fourth-seeded Hornets (9-3-4), who were playing their second game in two days.

 

McCann Tech coach Stephen McAllister, whose team lost to Mount Greylock in the exact same circumstance in last year’s Western Mass semi-final, feared going in that fatigue would be a factor. And early on, he saw evidence that his fears would be realized.

 

“Coming from back-to-back games, playing yesterday – it takes 72 hours for your body to acclimate after playing like that,” McAllister said. “And I’m not sure who it falls on. If it’s on our end or the PVIAC or what. But there’s no reason these boys should have to play back-to-back games.

 

“And that’s coming from the Greylock coach also. He says it’s ridiculous. It’s two years in a row they’ve done it to us. … But, other than that, I just want my boys to keep their heads held high going into states.”

 

Tuesday’s score could have been uglier if not for the play of McCann Tech keeper Ben Harris, who made 12 saves, including some real testers.

 

“He’s a sophomore, and he’s phenomenal,” McAllister said. “His brother played for us, and he was a great keeper. [Ben] has got a lot of knowledge, and I see great things coming from him in the future.”

 

Mount Greylock, though, was all but able to put the game away in the first seven minutes of the second half.

 

Kofi Roberts got things started with a goal from just inside the 18 with an assist from Igoe.

 

That was the only mark Roberts made on the scoresheet, but the speedy forward left his mark all over the game, helping pressure the McCann Tech backfield and contributing to numerous chances for the Mounties.

 

“He’s very dangerous,” Russo said. “A lot of different feints, and he’s very quick. And he can strike a ball well, although he mis-hit a couple tonight. They double team him, and he’s able to find someone who’s open.”

 

In the 47th minute, Shin scored with an assist from Everett Crowe to make it 5-0.

 

After that, Russo started digging deeper into his bench.

 

Zinedine Doucette, Cam Miller and Klompus – moved up from the backfield – provided the final goals.